A Successful Fine Dining Dinner with RAKA Wine Pairing

The pairing of food and wine is one of De Oude Kraal’s most inspiring commitments

The build up for the food and wine pairing: De Oude Kraal’s chef/owner Marie Lombard provided a symphony for the senses with an eight course dinner and Piet Dreyer owner of RAKA wines provided the 7 wines for the pairing.
The challenge of the game of food-wine pairing is to define formulae and equations that will help us find the meeting point between food and wine on the complex playing field of our palates.

In preparation for the evening Marie and team pre-tasted all the wines and gave a score out of a hundred with categories for sweet, sour, bitter, salt and savoury. That laid the foundation for building the menu in order to have each course harmonize with the selected wine.

The Actual Event:   On the 1st of November, a  select group of guests were greeted on arrival by De Oude Kraal owner Gerhard Lombard and Piet Dreyer with a nicely chilled glass of Chenin Blanc. Piet gave a short speech about the history of Raka his life and wine estate. He was actively involved in calamari fishing for 36 years and named the estate after his favourite fishing vessel – RAKA.

The eight course dinner started with a corn & shrimp mousse served with scallop and salami, goats’ milk cheese and watermelon paired with a Sauvignon Blanc. Next was a home-made Norwegian Salmon gravlax with radish, cucumber, peaches and dill to compliment the Shannonea.

The first red wine Pinotage worked really well with the smoked warthog loin, apple, beetroot and Molé-berry sauce, followed by the Quinary and lamb with thyme – a favourite with the guests. Next was fallow deer with mulberry, soya and tarragon accents for the Cabernet Franc.

The Biography Shiraz was well worth the wait accompanied by aged beef fillet served with a pepper-cream reduction with wild mushroom and seared foie gras.  A trio of strawberry desserts was followed by a ripe camembert, nuts and glazed fruits to enjoy with the coffee to conclude the evening.

Comments from the guests showed that each course was unique and delicious in its own right, with the lamb and fillet as the favourites.

The Food and Wine pairing evenings are available as part of our yearly calendar, visit our upcoming events page, or subscribe to receive our latest news via e-mail on our home page. Private fine dining and wine pairings can be booked by appointment, contact us for more information.

* In the picture from the left Gerhard Zulch-distributor of RAKA wines, Gerhard Lombard-owner De Oude Kraal and Piet Dreyer-owner RAKA.

De Oude Kraal Awarded With Prestigious Award

Marie Lombard, receiving the 2012 American Express Fine Dining Award in Cape Town, on the 19th of September 2011.
De Oude Kraal has been awarded this honour for  7 consecutive years and 1 of only 78 Restaurants in SA.

Well done Marie, Gerhard & the Oude Kraal Staff.

Festival Postoned!
Skaap & Bierfees postponed from
the 22/10/2011 to the 28/01/2012

"We, De Oude Kraal Management have decided to postpone the Skaap en Bierfees (Mutton & Beer festival) from the 22 October 2011, to the 28 January 2012.
Due to a few other events being held simultaneously in Bloemfontein, which would lead to a conflict of interest, we feel that the festival will serve as a great start to the New Year".

Thank you for your understanding.

Promotional day at the De Oude Kraal Spa

De Oude Kraal Spa has some of the best products for example, Thalgo, Ahava, Mama Mio etc. De Oude Kraal Spa hosted an open day featuring Thalgo products for relaxation and de-stressing.

The day started with arrival canapés & drinks. Thalgo did a presentation of the organic facial in the spa treatment rooms, but more specifically of the Thalgo Ocean Memoire wrap. The spa had sophisticated spa guests visiting. Guests were shown around the spa & facilities: Sauna, Jacuzzi , Steam room and lounge followed by a Thalgo treatment demonstration.

Herman Veitch – a Business Leadership life coach from Bloemfontein gave a talk about stress and how you determine your own fate in life- very enlightening.

De Oude Kraal spa has trained somatologists and is highly qualified in massage, especially on stressed muscles, facials, body wraps, pedicures, manicures.

The organic facial by Thalgo is truly unique and a favourite at the De Oude Kraal spa, the aroma, the results and especially combining the richness of Mother Nature’s earth and sea by Thalgo to produce a tailor made facial, for all skin types. Both male and female will reap the organic benefits.
Thalgo body wrap:Plunge into the wonders of the ocean with this magical journey done with Thalgo’s luxurious range. This unique re-energizing spa experience includes: A deep sea crystal scrub, a romantic sensorial bath, tingling algae mousse stress area wrap and an uplifting full body massage.

The Fantail wine range by Morgenhof Estate was launched on the day and will be available at the spa in future. The wines are easy drinkable wines and the fantail logo is symbolic of the bright flavour and taste of the range.

The Spa food was a nice light selection of gourmet dishes prepared from the freshest ingredients, some sourced on the farm and representative of the season.
 

For the romantic and available as an ad on with spa bookings, we have luxury accommodation in our guest house garden rooms; book an executive room for the ultimate treat.